Wrench.



No. 855,483. BATENTED JUNE 4, 1907; H. w. SIMMS.

WRENCH. APPLIOATIQN rum) JUNE 6, 190a.

WITNESSES: I

" I INVENTOR ATTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WRENCH- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 4, 1907.

Application filed June 6, 1906. Serial No. 320/106.

T0 (0% whmn it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY W. SIMMS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Bay City, in the county of Bay and State of Michigan, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Wrenches; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichit appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improvement .in wrenches and moreparticularly that class of nut wrenches provided with a rigid jaw and aslidable jaw movable toward and from the rigid jaw and instantly lockedat any point of its travel.

One object of the invention is the provision of an adjustment which ismuch more rapid and sure than the ordinary screw adjustment.

Another object is the provision of a onehand adjustment whereby theslidable jaw can be operated by the same hand which grasps the wrench.

A still further object is the provision of a movable jaw which isreleasable from the stock of the wrench so that it can be quicklyadjusted to accommodate nuts of varying size, the jaw beingautomatically locked to the stock when the desired adjustment isobtained.

A further object is the provision of a neat, simple and highly efficientWrench of this character which can be easily manufactured and placed onthe market at a low figure.

To these and other ends, therefore, my in vention consists in certainnovel features and combinations of parts together with theirequivalents, such as will be more fully de scribed hereinafter andparticularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating one embodiment of myinvention, Figure 1 is a side view of a wrench, Fig. 2 is a similarView, parts being removed to better disclose the construction, Fig. 3 isa detail side view of the pawl, and Fig. 4 is an endview of the movablejaw.

A indicates the usual handleor stock provided with a stationary jaw (1),the stock being toothed as at (3), the teeth inclined toward thestationary jaw (1), that end of the handle opposite the jaw beingpreferably reduced as at (4) to permit the slidable jaw to extendthereover and take into the teeth(3).

5 indicates a strap inclosing and sliding upon the handle or stock, themovable jaw (6) being rigidly secured between the ends of the strap, sothat the handle is confined be tween the strap and the rear face of themovable jaw. The front face of the movable jaw is cut away to receivethe locking pawl (7), the ends of the strap projecting past the recessedportion of the jaw so as to embrace a portion of the pawl, whereby toguide the same in its movement. The tail (8) of the pawl projects belowthe strap and is toothed to mesh with the teeth (3) of the handle.

The head (9) of the pawl projects beyond the strap and is rounded so asto be received in a similarly shaped bearing or socket formed in themovable jaw, said bearing terminating in a stop (10) against which theneck (11) of the pawl contacts, whereby the outward movement of the pawlis limited, and intermediate the socket bearing and the cutaway portionof the jaw is located a shoulder (12) against which one end of a spring(13) bears, said spring located between the pawl and the cut-awayportion of the jaw, the opposite end of the spring being looselyreceived in a kerf (13 in the tail of the pawl.

In order to retain the pawl in assembled position yieldingly in contactwith the jaw, I provide a pin (14) which passes through the projectingends of the strap and between the pawl and spring, and by reason of theresilience of the spring the toothed tail of the pawl is yieldingly heldin mesh with the teeth (3) of the handle,'the head of the pawl 1,

.being pivotally received in the socket formed in the jaw.

As one means for rocking the pawl to cause a disengagement of the tailand the teeth (3), I provide an inclined lever (15) pivotally secured tothe pawl at a convenient point intermediate its ends, such levercomprising an approximately U-shaped body portion from which preferablyprojects a thumb piece (16). The legs of the lever are preferably,though not necessarily squared at their free ends and normally engagethe ends of the strap, the pivot pin (17) passing through the legs neartheir lower ends. Pressure upon the thumb piece (16) will rock the levercausing the rear corners of the legs to press against the stationarystrap whereby the pawl is rocked or lifted against the tension of thespring (13), so that its toothed tail is disengaged from the teeth (3)whereby to permit the jaw,

strap and pawl to be moved in either direction to accommodate work ofvarious sizes.

Owing to the inclination of the teeth on the handle and on the pawl, themovable jaw is freely movable toward the stationary jaw, but cannot bemoved away from the jaw except by releasing the pawl from the handle byoperating the thumb lever. It will be further noted that the pawlassumes an inclined position relative to the movable jaw and the handleso that when the wrench is in use the pressure brought to bear againstthe outer end of the movable jaw will be sustained by the pawl whichserves as a brace, such'pressure being transmitted through the pawldirectly to the handle and the greater such pressure, the more tenaciouswill the teeth of the pawl and handle engage each other, the inclinationof such tooth beingin the line of pressure exerted upon the movable jaw.

When it is desired to remove the pawl from thejaw, all that is necessaryis to grasp the tail of the pawl firmly and raise it from the handle andagainst the tension of the spring (13) until the pawl has cleared theprojecting ends of the straps, whereupon it may be slid or movedsidewise to release the head of the pawl from the socket, the end of thespring being loosely received in a kerf in the tail of the pawl andhence opposing no resistance save perhaps frictional to the sidewisemovement of the pawl.

It would be unnecessary to remove the pawl except in case of thebreakage of the spring or other parts, or in case some foreign materialhappened to work into the space between the pawl andjaw.

From the foregoing, therefore, it is evident that I have devised asimple yet neat and strong tool of the character set forth, which can beused more easily and adjusted more quickly than the ordinary form ofscrew wrench, besides affording a brace for the strain brought to bearon the outer end of the movable jaw and providing means for instantlylocking the jaw to and unlocking it from the handle to admit of itsadjustment to the work.

Having thus fully disclosed my invention, what I claim as new is 1; Awrench comprising a handle and stationary jaw, teeth on the handle, astrap slidingly mounted on the handle, a jaw fixed to the sliding strap,and closing the strap, the

jaw being cut away and having a socket formed near its outer end, a pawlreceived between the projecting ends of the strap, the pawl su erposedupon the jaw, one end of the paw received in the socket, a stop carriedby the jaw adjacent the socket to limit movement of the pawl in onedirection, teeth on the opposite end of the pawl adapted to mesh withthe teeth on the handle, a lever pivotally secured to the pawl andbearing on the ends of the strap, to release the teeth of the pawl fromthe teeth of the handle, and a spring, carried by the pawl and engagingthe jaw to normally retain the teeth of the pawl in engagement with theteeth of the handle.

2. A wrench comprising a toothed handle, a movable jaw slidably mountedon the handle, and having a socket formed therein, a pawl, one end ofwhich is pivotally received in the socket, teeth on the opposite end ofthe pawl adapted to mesh with the teeth on the handle, a spring foryieldingly retaining the teeth in mesh, the pawl lying in alinement withthe pressure brought on the outer end of the movable jaw, and bracingthe latter and a lever pivotally secured to the pawl and having arocking engagement with the jaw for releasing the teeth of the pawl fromthe teeth of the handle against the tension of the spring.

3. In a wrench, the combination with a toothed stock, of a slidable jawmounted'on the stock, a pawl, one end of which pivotally engages themovable jaw, teeth on the opposite end of the pawl meshing with theteeth on the handle, means for yieldingly retaining the teethin mesh anda lever pivotally secured to the awl and having a rocking engagementwitli the j aw for raising the toothed end of the pawl.

4. A wrench comprising a toothed stock and a fixed jaw, a U-shaped strapslidably inclosing the stock, a jaw cut away throughout a portion of itslength and fixedly carried by the strap, the ends of the strapprojecting beyond the cut away portion of the jaw, a shoulder formed onthe cut away portion of the jaw, a pawl received between the ends of thestrap and superposed upon the jaw, one end of the pawl pivotallyengaging the jaw, teeth on the opposite end of the pawl meshing with theteeth'on the stock, the pawl having a kerf formed therein, a s ring, oneend of which is seated in the kerf, t e opposite end engaging theshoulder on the jaw and a lever pivoted'to the pawl, the lever bearingagainst the end of the strap to raise the toothed end of the pawl.

5. A'wrench comprising a toothed stock, a jaw movable thereon, a squaredface on the jaw a pawl toothed at one end, the opposite end of the pawlbeing journaled in the jaw, and a releasing lever pivoted to the pawladjacent the squared face of the jaw, one end of the lever resting onthe jaw and having a squared face corresponding with that of the jawwhen the pawl is in locked position relative to the stock.

6. A wrench comprising a toothed stock a jaw slidable on the stock, apawl, one end of which is pivotally connected to the jaw, teeth on theopposite end of the pawl meshing with the teeth on the stock, a pivotcarried by the jaw and engaging the pawl intermediate its ends, a springpassing under the pivot and in contact with the aw, the pivotallysecured to the pawl, one end of the opposite ends of the spring engagingthe lever having a rocking contact with and awl on opposite sides of thepivot, and a bearing against the jaw to release theteeth ever for movingthe pawl on its pivot out of the pawl from the teeth of the handle.

5 of engagement with the teeth on the stock. In testimony whereof, Iaffix my signature 1 5 7. A wrench comprising a toothed stock inpresence of two witnesses. and a movable jaw slidable on the stock, aHENRY W. SIMMS. pawl, one end of which is pivotally connected Witnesses:to the movable jaw, teeth on the pawl en- BESSE G. BURTON,

1o gaging the teeth on the stock and a lever J. L. MCCORMICK.

